Overview
- The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network released a status report on Monday showing global hard coral cover fell about 9.5% below historical levels for 2020–2024 based on more than 40 years of data from nearly 37,000 reef sites.
- The report finds the interval between mass bleaching events has shortened to an average of five to six years, roughly doubling the frequency of bleaching and shrinking the time reefs have to recover.
- The 2023 global bleaching affected about 77% of reef areas and ocean surface temperatures hit a record 21.1°C on August 22, a combination scientists say makes another major bleaching event very likely this year.
- Authors say the main cause is long‑term ocean warming from greenhouse gas emissions and that rapid cuts to emissions, paired with local measures such as reducing overfishing, pollution, and coastal development, can widen recovery windows.
- Declines are concentrated in regions including Australia, the eastern Pacific, the Caribbean, and the Persian Gulf–Arabian Sea, putting food, livelihoods, coastal protection, and tourism for millions of people at increased risk.